A Washington Post Notable BookIn 1858; a German princess; recently inducted into the convent of Sant’Ambrogio in Rome; wrote a frantic letter to her cousin; a confidant of the Pope; claiming that she feared for her life. A subsequent investigation by the Church’s Inquisition uncovered the shocking secrets of a convent ruled by a beautiful young mistress; who coerced her novices into lesbian initiation rites and heresies; and who entered into an illicit relationship with a young theologian. Drawing upon written testimony and original documents discovered in a secret Vatican archive; The Nuns of Sant’Ambrogio is the never-before-told true story of how one woman was able to practice deception; heresy; seduction; and murder in the heart of the Catholic Church.
#1317926 in Books University of Nebraska Press 1993-11-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .91 x 5.98l; 1.13 #File Name: 0803289464376 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. This is the work of a Master. This book ...By Sharon CampbellThis is the work of a Master. This book reaches into the soul of Kabbalah and pulls out the secrets of the ages. This is the deep; thought provoking work that will stay with you in contemplation for the rest of your life.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Two StarsBy CustomerIn Latin not English18 of 18 people found the following review helpful. Valuable edition of a seminal workBy Christopher I. LehrichJohannes Reuchlin (1455-1522) wrote _De arte cabalistica_ (1517) as a kind of synthesis of his Kabbalistic thought. It is constructed in the form of a conversation among three thinkers; the most important being Simon; the Jewish explicator of Kabbalah. This work is in a sense a sequel to Reuchlin's _De verbo mirifico_ [On the wonder-working word]; but focuses almost entirely on the Kabbalistic side of things.As an introduction to Kabbalah in an ordinary sense; the text is not particularly useful; since Reuchlin has his own somewhat idiosyncratic spin on what is most important. As an introduction to Christian Kabbalah; however; it is a seminal work; and along with _De verbo mirifico_ and Pico's _900 Theses_ required reading. Reuchlin's opinions probably did more than anything else to encourage the spread of Jewish mystical thought into the Christian West; and this is one of the books at the heart of that movement.The edition is useful; including both an English translation and a facsimile of the Latin text. Unfortunately the layout is poor; so that the translation often ends up several pages off from the Latin; preventing direct comparison. The translation itself is good; although it would be improved by more scholarly apparatus and notes; which are conspicuously thin. Fortunately the volume is inexpensive; which makes up for quite a bit.A decent library of early modern occult thought should have this book. The modern practitioner will not; I suspect; find it terribly useful; nor will those interested primarily in Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah. The principal value of the book is that it makes available a text which greatly influenced later Christian occult thinkers; notably Agrippa; Dee; Bruno; Fludd; and others.
